Do u kno IM-speak? CBA teen sez u rly should

Nat Sportelli, a freshman at Christian Brothers Academy, wrote the following essay for the VOICES>> page of The Post-Standard.

We all have to know English, but there is another language that most teenagers are fluent in.

Some might call it "speaking IM" -- speaking with code words we use to keep instant messages short.

You've probably seen the commercial with this well-known line: "Idk my bff Jill?" Well, without a teenage translator, those of a greater age have no clue what this basic phrase means.

Even though each generation has had its own lingo, no generation has used its created phrases more extensively than ours. The Internet has been a very effective way for this language to spread around the world and into the minds of teens.

An English teacher might call it "an unnecessary use of the English vocabulary," and it might frustrate other adults, but "speaking IM" isn't "wrong." Adults have to face it; It's our pop culture. They can either learn the acronyms or they can be ignorant about what we say message boxes and our everyday language.

Perhaps "speaking IM," is just another way to prevent adult figures from knowing what we were really saying. How would your parents feel if they knew how many times you said, "omg," or lmao?"

Nevertheless, this is how we communicate with our friends after school hours. Who really cares what we say? Parents and teachers do, apparently.

Maybe, in some weird way, we do as well. If you stop to think about what you are really saying in IM-speak, you might feel guilty.

Of course, you can use your acquired vocabulary any way you want to. Use it to hide things from your parents, talk to your friends, or whatever you wish.